El Bandido - Beckley — Restaurant in Beckley

So, what does one do when staying in Beckley for one night? Why, you go to El Bandido, of course! Since this was our first time in Beckley, and we were staying close by, Mexican food seemed the best choice. We were NOT disappointed. Was it busy when we got there around 6pm? Yes. Did we receive a nice welcome from the host? Absolutely. Have I forgotten the gentleman's name? Obviously. Did we opt to sit at the bar instead of waiting for a table. Why not. So, when we sidled up to the bar, Ms Angie greeted us warmly. I ordered a mango daiquiri and the DW ordered a skinny margarita. After having gotten hooked on mango daiquiris on a cruise a couple months ago, I have made it my go-to drink when I don't have any idea what I want. Decisions are hard. To say that both drinks were great would be a sad and overwhelming understatement. DW said it was the best margarita she's had in quite a while (and we just happen to make some pretty darn good ones at home, if I do say so myself). I tried it, and she was spot on in her judgement. My mango daiquiri was of equal fabulousness. No chunks of ice in that baby! Flavor was perfect, and the Diplomatico rum topped it off. Now on to the food. The obligatory chips and salsa, of course, arrived quickly. Chips were fresh and warm. Salsa was tasty, and we'd call it above average overall. That will not be even close to how we'd describe our dinners. DW got the street tacos and I had the carnitas plate. We found the tacos to be very tasty. The corn tortillas half up their end of the bargain and did a great job delivering all that yumminess into her mouth without disintegrating. The carnitas... This is where it gets interesting folks. They were, by and far, the best carnitas I have had in a very long time. I reluctantly shared abite with her (don't worry, it was a small bite). Despite how happy DW was with her tacos, she displayed a little regret at getting chicken instead of the carnitas version.

As for other things about the restaurant, it was very well kept. Clean and tidy. Bar area was more on the quiet side than the rest of the restaurant, which was nice. Prices for everything seems very reasonable (aka, lower than we're used to). Staff was getting along well with everyone. And Ms Angie certainly made sure we were happy with everything.

Next time we find ourselves in Beckley, WV, you can be absolutely certain we can be found at El Bandido! Many thanks to Ms Angie and the rest of the El...

Pepsie tasted like seltzer water, told the waiter it tasted like water. He leaves and brings me a water. Told him again. He asked if i wanted a bottle of coke. I said yes. He brings back a glass of coke that tasted mostly like seltzer water. I just decided to sip it and live with it because clearly wasnt going to get any better. Me and my wife ordered. She order chicken in her food, it came out with beef. I ordered mine with no onion. Came out full of onion! Casher took off a whopping 10% after my wife told her about everything🙄. The owner of this place used to be here all the time and it was great but since he is no longer ever here when I come to eat, it has really changed to the worse. Guess I'll go back to Elrancho. I like their Burito durango better anyways. Very disappointing that this place has fell to the bottom of my places to eat in...

I stopped in to try out this new Mexican restaurant and came away disappointed. While the exterior of the building has been renovated, the interior was still largely the same withe only the booths replaced with something matching the restaurant's theme.

As for the food, I cannot recommend this place over the Rio Grande just down the road. I order the Special Gonzalez, which is a beef enchallada, taco, and rice. The meat had no seasoning and the chili sauce on the enchallada was overly powerful, as if to make up for the lack of seasoning in the meat. The only part of the meal the was decent was salsa and that should be hard to mess up.

The waitstaff was friendly enough, but nothing to write home about other than being perfectly average. But in the end, I will not be coming back here when there are better options for Mexican...